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Srihari Palangala
Class of 2006
What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
As a seasoned marketer in the technology products industry, I enjoy the fact
that marketers today are the pivot in the business. As a marketer, you cut
across business functions to drive growth and value for the organization by:
- Constantly connecting with customers and
telling the product story
- Staying on top of market and competition
movements
- Always exploring new opportunities and avenues
for profitable growth
I believe marketers today angle across the organization, constantly delivering
long term and short term value.
Briefly describe a typical day at work, in a way that illuminates the kind of
challenges and opportunities your role involves.
A typical day in my role involves (usually 1 or more of the following):
- Marketing campaigns – their roll-out and
monitoring/optimizing how they are performing
- Connecting with sales and pre-sales to discuss how they are
pursuing customer opportunities – and understanding what the friction points are
towards business closure
- Connecting and working with partners – to ensure they are
aligned around business priorities and enthused about our business
- Looking at customers who have purchased our software –
ensuring that they are successful with our products and are delivering value
from it
The challenge and opportunity is around the fact that I have a broad view across
the spectrum – so a successful day would mean that you need to work
cross-functionally and across various teams to drive business movement and
value.
What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in?
Are there any trends that you can identify?
Quite honestly, there has never been a more exciting time to be a marketer.
Technology – including digital marketing, data and insights are making campaigns
and efforts very targeted and marketing is fast approaching to becoming THE
pivotal function in the organization – with powerful inside-out and outside-in
views. This will be the decade of the marketer, and we should expect to see the
CMO having a better pulse on the business numbers than the CFO.
From a market perspective, I have spent time looking at India as a market – and
I do believe we are at a cusp where India will explode in terms of the digital &
technology that will be consumed here (both by businesses and consumers alike).
What was the main highlight or most memorable aspect of your programme at the
ISB?
I liked the rigor and the quality of education – including the course structure
(tons of learning packed in short semesters, great learning content), case study
breadth and Professors. It was a world class learning experience – which I have
constantly emphasized to several people who have asked me in the years since.
If you could offer a word of advice to the current class at ISB, what would
it be?
Couple the learning you have at ISB with the real world experience you will
gather over the years post. Once you graduate, be open in certain areas as you
learn and absorb, but be rigid in a few – including your principles.
How do you feel you can contribute to ISB?
If it is useful for current students, am happy to take guest lectures on
industry marketing innovations, trends and tips. I am also happy to mentor
startups at WCED.